


So Much More

by nirvanaovoxoxo



Category: Dancing with the Stars (US) RPF, Maksyl - Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-11 10:56:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3324944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nirvanaovoxoxo/pseuds/nirvanaovoxoxo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few (out of order)  chapters of the domesticated life of our favorite couple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Perfect Quote

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first and probably my last piece of writing. I just wrote this for myself because I was consumed with the idea for a while but I decided to share it. I do not consider myself a good writer whatsoever. Hopefully, it's easy to follow and makes sense. Blame Google Translate for any mistakes in Russian. Blame me for any other mistakes. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated. Enjoy!
> 
> Update: Actually changed my mind! I'll be continuing this!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meryl can't sleep without finding the perfect quote.

It wasn’t cold but it wasn’t comfortable. Something was missing. He couldn’t feel her anymore. Maks rolled over and saw his beautiful wife sleeping heavily, he thought, on her back and further away than he’d appreciated. When she moved, he didn’t know. Maybe she had to get some water or use the bathroom. He looked over her peaceful and tired face. She looked happy and comfortable and he smiled. She was gorgeous. He moved closer to her face and kissed her cheek, “Ya tebya lyublyu (I love you),” he whispered softly into her ear and kissed it.

He moved down her body. She was wearing his black tank top that she had made her own. She pretty much drowned in it and he loved that. She had kicked the covers to the side. Of course, she took all the covers. He lifted her tank top just enough to look at her stomach. Meryl still had abs for days but they were slightly fading and becoming softer. Her small stomach had begun to poke out just a tad bit. Any random person on the street wouldn’t think anything of her appearance. It hadn’t changed much. Yet. She was still very fit but Maks knew and he smiled with a strong sense of pride. He ran his fingers over her small figure and settled his hand on her stomach, rubbing small circles.

He pressed a kiss to her stomach, “Ya lyublyu s name (I love us)”. He placed his arm around her stomach and his head in the small space between Meryl’s breasts and upper stomach. He was still tired and soon he drifted back to sleep, contently.

_“I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also,I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that I love no one else, and never have loved anyone else, and never will love anyone else.” –Jonathan Safran Foer_

She wasn’t necessarily hot but she didn’t remember pulling the covers over herself again. She felt pressure. Still half asleep, her first instinct was to rub her hands over her stomach. She moved her hands down her body and felt thick hair instead. She opened her eyes to see her gorgeous husband sleeping soundly on her with his arm wrapped protectively around her stomach. He was snoring but it wasn’t too loud. _He must’ve just fallen back asleep,_ she thought. It was the cutest moment and she had to take a picture. She wanted to remember this exact moment forever. She quickly grabbed her phone and took the picture.

                “ _It is beautiful to express love and even more beautiful to feel it.” –Dejan Stojanovic_

She looked at the picture and wanted to post it immediately even though they were both still very private people. It was almost 2 am. She didn’t care. Only friends and family knew that she was pregnant. The world knew Meryl and Maks were married but they were left alone for the most part. They were comfortable. She couldn’t think of the perfect quote to go with the picture. It had to be perfect, she thought. It was on the tip of her tongue. Was it Hemingway or Fitzgerald or was it a song lyric? She couldn’t remember and her stubbornness wouldn’t allow her to sleep without remembering it. She furrowed her eyebrows and pouted her lips.

As if on que, Maks began snoring obnoxiously loud. So loud that their small, grey English bulldog, Gypsy, (Maks named her that… what an odd name for such a small, lethargic dog) lifted her ears and started whining. She was lying at the end of the bed. They’d decided on a female dog so Sir Sleep would have a love interest. Both dogs were far too lazy to love each other. Meryl laughed silently but her entire lower half shook.

Maks woke abruptly, whipping his head up dramatically and startling Meryl a little. Then, she laughed out loud. She loved her life. Maks was still a little confused. “What’s wrong? Are you okay? You need something?” he asked. She shook her head. She was happy. He looked into her eyes. “You’re uncomfortable, babe. I’m sorry,” He kissed her stomach again and she smiled even more. “No, baby it’s okay. I was just laughing. I’m fine. You were snoring again. It was funny,” Meryl explained sweetly while running her fingers through his wild hair. She didn’t want to worry him. He did it out of love but she had to ensure him that the baby was safe and that she was fine. She loved his protective instincts.

He moved up her body and settled his head in the crook of her neck. He breathed in her clean, lavender scent and kissed her neck. “Go back to sleep, then. You need your rest while you can get it. You have to be up in a few hours. I don’t want you to lose sleep if you don’t have to,” Maks whispered with his thick accent. _He could make me do anything with that voice,_ she thought. _He_ was still tired but he was also right. They lived in New York and Meryl had a job at Good Morning America. Sometimes she’d do a fashion segment or do a table discussion or whatever they decided she’d do that day. It was nice and she loved that aspect of her job. She and Charlie had retired from skating about a year and a half ago but they still skated together and were as close as ever. She went to Michigan as she pleased. Her parents visited quite often and she saw all her sorority friends, skating friends, and DWTS friends often as well. She still wanted to attend graduate school and she planned on doing that at some point. She traveled, too. It was blissful and chaotic at times but it was everything she never knew she wanted. She loved her life. She started her foundation about six months ago and worked very hard with different people every day. At the end of her and Maks’ long schedules, they had each other and their cute puppy. She was **full of love** and right when she thought her life couldn’t be any more perfect, she was blessed with a little bundle of joy. She had Maks with her all the time now.

She was definitely still awake when Maks said, “Son, angel. Graf shchenkov. (Sleep, angel. Count the puppies.)”. “What?” Meryl giggled, “What puppies, Maks?” She knew he was still half asleep and she probably shouldn’t tease him but it was funny. “You know… the puppies not the sheep. Count ‘em. The baby wants puppies too…” he started dozing off. Always the out of the box thinker. It was cute. “Well, I can’t sleep now,” Meryl pouted her lips again. She was too happy to sleep at the moment. What a nice dilemma that was. Her mind wondered back to her perfect quote.

Was it about happiness or family? Was it about a muse? Did it come from a book? Meryl couldn’t remember at the moment so she rolled over towards Maks and studied his face. He had a few laugh lines and wrinkles here and there. He had lived and now he actively chose to live with her. She kissed his freckled nose and looked at the picture frame on the wall behind him. Inside was a poster with her life motto quoted in calligraphy that she’d received as a gift from a fan. It was a beautiful addition to their room. The antique paper had a crumpled texture and the calligraphy writing was perfect.

 _“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.” –Henry David Thoreau_ (a misquotation of the real quote but she’d always lived by those exact words).

Meryl had always been a hard worker. She loved skating and she loved learning. Maintaining good grades and furthering her skating career was hard but it was her dream. She and Charlie had worked hard to make their dreams come true and now they were both expanding those dreams as time went on. She thought about living the life that she imagined. Meryl couldn’t have imagined being as blessed as she was in her life now. She had everything that she had ever wanted, never imagined wanting, and more. It was always more since she’d met Maks. They were always more. The butterflies in her stomach grew, the more she thought about it. Maks snored obnoxiously again and she shook him. That was her quote. It was the quote.

“Aren’t you happy?” She asked with a grin. She was being annoying. “Mhmm… and tired Mommy,” Maks whined and squeezed her waist closer to him. He’d started calling her Mommy as a joke to get her used to hearing it. It made her heart melt every time. It was for them. For their baby that they made… together. She kissed him gently and passionately. Even in his sleep, he’d kissed her back and took her breath away. Maks was confused about her “happy” talk at the moment but he knew whatever it was, it was important if she was still awake and wanting to kiss him. “I don’t need anything else but you. I wake up every day and face the world for you… because you’re in it,” he told her, seriously. He lay on his side and pulled her to his bare chest. He knew like that.

                _“If souls could be mated with wishes, ours would be inextricably entwined.” – Sylvia Day_

She’d let him sleep now. She could go back to sleep now. She was content. She had the perfect quote all along. It’s been ingrained in her very being for as long as she could remember. Her favorite quote. Her life motto. Her life. It was extraordinary. It was more. **So much more.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meryl is about 6 weeks pregnant. Probably looks like this.
> 
> http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_w8yDHvNETCw/TTDbwMiW8oI/AAAAAAAAA7I/u7Tj_5i9bPs/s400/IMG_0280.JPG
> 
> I realized that I liked writing from Meryl's point of view more in this story. 
> 
> I didn't talk much about Maks' career so imply whatever you want about it but he does work. 
> 
> Also, I had this cute dog in mind. I don't know if Meryl would actually want this puppy, but I would!
> 
> http://www.bullytree.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/miniature-english-bulldog-Puppy-Blue.jpg


	2. The Perfect Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meryl and Maks find out some exciting information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals week has come to an end and so has my first year of college! That being said, I thought I wouldn't write again but inspiration struck. Also, since all of this work ties in together, I'll just add chapters to this. Hope you enjoy!

She woke up feeling very content. It was an ethereal experience to wake up so happy every morning. She rolled over and the only thing she felt was a ball of cover and Gypsy, the pup. She kissed the sleepy puppy on the head. _“Where’s Maks?”_ Meryl thought. That’s when her nose caught up to her brain. Was it pancakes and bacon? She loved pancakes and bacon in the morning. It was a rare Saturday morning. One of the few days where both Meryl and Maks either didn’t work in the morning or could get away with not working at all (not really) until the following day.

Meryl hopped out of bed, threw on her lavender silk robe, and walked downstairs. The kitchen smelt lovely and low and behold, there he was. No shirt and boxers. One of her most favorite sights. She had to admit, her husband was a special man. Meryl also glanced around the room to see that he’d prepared pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit, and was currently scrambling eggs. Sleep was patiently waiting for something, any piece of food to drop on the floor. Her other favorite sights.

She waited until he finished the eggs to creep up behind him and wrap her arms around him from behind. “Hi”, Meryl said in a small, low voice. She’d just woken up after all and was still slightly tired. He laughed for a second. _“She’s cute”,_ he thought. “Hi to you too, babe. You slept well?” he asked while turning around to hold her and look into her sleepy eyes. “Mhmm. I missed you when I woke up but it smells good in here,” she whispered while moving her hands to hold onto his neck. “I missed you too, baby. Hopefully, it tastes good too. You want to eat right now?” Maks asked her. “No,” she shook her head, “I want to kiss you right now if that’s okay”. Maks laughed again and kissed his wife. He'd never get tired of this. Waking up to her, laughing with her; it was the best feeling. _“That’s my Meryl”,_ he thought. The kiss was sweet and long and perfect. At least she thought it was.

Maks pulled away with a puzzled look on his face. “What’s wrong?” Meryl asked, slightly worried. “Umm nothing. Just… have you been chewing on pennies or something lately?” Maks questioned. Meryl let out the biggest laugh he’d ever gotten from her. “What do you mean? No, I don’t eat pennies,” Meryl responded. He kissed her again. A little longer this time. Breathtakingly longer this time. “Just tastes a little more metally than usual,” Maks decided. “Metallic, you mean,” Meryl stated, “Hmm, you think it’s just weird morning breath?” Maks thought a second. He didn’t really know. He pulled out his phone and asked Siri, “What does metallic breath mean?” Meryl grabbed the iPad off the table and searched for an answer too. This was weird and Meryl became increasingly concerned. 

Gum diseases. Mouth odor. Meryl continued to search with growing panic. “Mine says _pregnant_ or _pregnancy_ ”, Maks said, “You’re pregnant!?” Good question. She didn’t even know. “Let me see it,” she said, “Hmm, it says Dysgeusia, metallic taste or breath, is a common pregnancy symptom but I don’t know.” She went back to hug him and look up at him. “Would it hurt to take a test? Then maybe we could eat breakfast,” Maks suggested. “Your mom did give me a box of pregnancy tests the last time she came over. I guess I could take a couple,” Meryl said. Larissa really wanted a grandchild and she was becoming way less subtle about it. For her birthday, Larissa gave Meryl a box of pregnancy tests and a fertility cookbook. Yes, fertility cookbooks exist. She had good intentions, though and she understood her mother-in-law's impatience. Meryl was a mix between excited and scared. They’d been married a while now. She wanted a family now but was she ready? They hadn’t been trying but they also hadn’t been preventing anything. As Maks would say, _“Whatever happens, happens. I’m happy as long as it happens with you.”_ She knew Maks couldn’t wait to be a father.

Maks sensed her uneasiness. “Hey, look at me. Hold my hand,” he said almost childishly. She just watched him with a small smile on her face. Maks decided to kneel down and pull her closer to him. He placed a few kisses to her stomach. “Whatever happens, happens. It’ll be okay. I just want you. We’re in this together and if you’re pregnant, please be pregnant,” he said with praying hands and then grabbed her waist again. Meryl finally let out an easy laugh. She absolutely loved this man with everything she had. “If you’re not pregnant,” he started, “We’ll have breakfast and finally get started with painting the den today”. He kissed her belly again. She smiled down at him and placed her hands in his hair. “I love you. How’d I get so lucky?” Meryl asked. “You’re an angel. You’re not lucky. I love you too… and your weird breath!” Maks joked. She leaned down to kiss him one more time before running off to the bathroom. Maks slowly followed behind and walked in.

“Wait outside,” Meryl told him. “Why? It’ my bathroom too and if you’re pregnant then it’s my baby too and I’ve seen you before. I want to brush my teeth again. You should brush yours too,” he teased. “You have your own bathroom,” she giggled, “And yes, it’s your baby if it exists and I could brush my teeth in here if you went to your bathroom,” she teased back. They had separate bathrooms because it came with the original renovations of the house. It didn’t bother them because they got up at different times anyway and Meryl had more space for all her products. But when they were together, they went to whatever bathroom the other was in. 

Meryl finished taking both tests and brushed her teeth. Maks had made their breakfast plates and brought it up to their bedroom on a tray. “Breakfast in bed while we wait?” Maks asked. She nodded her head and climbed into bed beside him. The food was delicious. “So, if I am pregnant? Then, what?” Meryl asked as she finished her food. She picked up Gypsy and Sleep hopped onto the bed. “We’re grown. We’ll have a baby, duh!” Maks teased. He was on a roll today. “Okay,” she cuddled into him and he embraced her, “But our whole lives would change,” she stated. “For the better,” Maks added while kissing her hair. “Is it time to find out yet?” he asked impatiently.

Meryl got up and brought the tests into the bedroom. She gave the tests to Maks. “You read them,” she stated, “I’m ready.” He looked at her for a while. He loved her with everything he had. He was ready for the next chapter in their life together. “Well, pregnant… and pregnant. Meryl, baby, you’re really pregnant!” Maks exclaimed. She beamed at him with excitement. Her eyes started getting glossy. She hadn’t realized how much she wanted this. She wanted to carry Maks' baby. She wanted to pick out names with him and decorate a nursery with him. She wanted a baby that looked like him and her. She hadn't really thought her life could get any better than this. He leaned over and kissed her passionately. “Are you happy?” he asked with a questioning look on his face. “I couldn’t be happier,” she said while rubbing the scruff on his face, “We just have to make a doctor’s appointment and we’ll have to wait to tell everyone and…” she stopped. She felt a slight disappointment. “I guess you can’t help paint the den with me today,” Maks added. “I wish I could’ve told you in a more creative way”, Meryl sighed.

Maks couldn’t help but laugh. She worried about the silliest things with him. “Baby, this is perfect. I’m so happy I could find out with you and we found out together. Ya tebya lyublyu (I love you). We can tell our friends and family in a creative way, I promise,” he said while kissing her hand. Then, he kissed cheek and nose. Finally, he kissed her mouth. She smiled again. She couldn’t believe how happy he could make her. It was magical. He ran his fingers through her long hair. “But maybe we should look up how to get rid of the metal breath too,” Maks suggested while he laughed. Meryl threw a pillow at him and laughed, “Metallic!” He was right. This was perfect. She had nothing to worry about. It would only get more perfect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: metallic breath and taste is a real pregnancy symptom. Who knew? Anyway, more out of sequence pregnancy stories will hopefully be in the future.


End file.
